gnome-session(1)

1GNOME-SESSION(1)            General Commands Manual           GNOME-SESSION(1)
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NAME

6       gnome-session - Start the GNOME desktop environment
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SYNOPSIS

9       gnome-session  [-a|--autostart=DIR] [--session=SESSION] [--failsafe|-f]
10       [--debug] [--whale]
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DESCRIPTION

13       The gnome-session program starts up the GNOME desktop environment. This
14       command  is  typically executed by your login manager (either gdm, xdm,
15       or from your X startup scripts). It will load either  your  saved  ses‐
16       sion,  or  it will provide a default session for the user as defined by
17       the system administrator (or the default  GNOME  installation  on  your
18       system).
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20       The  default  session is defined in gnome.session, a .desktop-like file
21       that  is   looked   for   in   $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/sessions,
22       $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions  and  $XDG_DATA_DIRS/gnome-ses‐
23       sion/sessions.
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25       When saving a session, gnome-session saves the currently running appli‐
26       cations in the $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/saved-session directory.
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28       gnome-session is an X11R6 session manager. It can manage GNOME applica‐
29       tions as well as any X11R6 SM compliant application.
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OPTIONS

32       The following options are supported:
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34       --autostart=DIR
35              Start all applications defined in DIR, instead of  starting  the
36              applications  defined  in  gnome.session,  or  via the --session
37              option. Multiple --autostart options can be passed.
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39       --session=SESSION
40              Use the applications defined in SESSION.session. If  not  speci‐
41              fied, gnome.session will be used.
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43       --failsafe
44              Run  in  fail-safe mode. User-specified applications will not be
45              started.
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47       --debug
48              Enable debugging code.
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50       --whale
51              Show the fail whale in a dialog for debugging it.
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SESSION DEFINITION

54       Sessions are defined in .session files, that are using a  .desktop-like
55       format, with the following keys in the GNOME Session group:
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57       Name   Name of the session. This can be localized.
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59       RequiredComponents
60              List  of component identifiers (desktop files) that are required
61              by the session. The required components will always run  in  the
62              session.
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64       Here is an example of a session definition:
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66           [GNOME Session]
67           Name=GNOME
68           RequiredComponents=gnome-shell;gnome-settings-daemon;
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70       The  .session  files  are  looked  for  in  $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-ses‐
71       sion/sessions,       $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions        and
72       $XDG_DATA_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions.
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ENVIRONMENT

75       gnome-session  sets  several  environment  variables for the use of its
76       child processes:
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78       SESSION_MANAGER
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80              This variable is used by session-manager aware clients  to  con‐
81              tact gnome-session.
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83       DISPLAY
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85              This  variable  is set to the X display being used by gnome-ses‐
86              sion. Note that if the --display option is used  this  might  be
87              different  from  the  setting  of  the environment variable when
88              gnome-session is invoked.
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FILES

91       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/config/autostart     $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/config/autostart
92       /usr/share/gnome/autostart
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94              The applications defined in those directories will be started on
95              login.
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97       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/sessions     $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/gnome-ses‐
98       sion/sessions $XDG_DATA_DIRS/gnome-session/sessions
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100              These  directories  contain  the .session files that can be used
101              with the --session option.
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103       $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/gnome-session/saved-session
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105              This directory contains the list of applications  of  the  saved
106              session.
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BUGS

109       If  you  find bugs in the gnome-session program, please report these on
110       https://bugzilla.gnome.org.
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